The union movement has a problem. It prefers Gillard because she is close to the union movement (largely because she needs a support base in the ALP) and Rudd really doesn't like unions very much. On the other hand, an Abbott Government with control of the Senate (a distinct possibility on present public and priivate polling) would be seen as an existential threat for the union movement by the ACTU.

Do they stick with Gillard, or try and save themselves by switching to Rudd and saving a few seats and a few precious Senate positions?

This emphasises again that for non-affiliated unions there is a viable alternative to the ALP on the left.

Presumably, the NTEU hopes that the money will help the Greens retain a strong position in the Senate and be able to block some of the bolder deregulation of higher education that Abbott and Pyne appear likely to pursue.

The prospect of a government run by a bunch of right-wing former student politicians is very bad news for the NTEU.

1 Comment

Dear Trevor,

Good to see your coverage of the National Tertiary Education Union’s decision to intervene in the forthcoming Federal election. However, it’s simply not true that the NTEU is giving a $1million to the Greens.

The NTEU will run its own campaign in support of maintaining the Greens’ balance of power in the Senate and the election of selected lower house candidates who commit to the Union's election priorities. We will not be making any donations to the Greens, or any individual candidate. Could you please post a correction?

Here’s the link to the official media release: https://www.nteu.org.au/article/NTEU-to-spend-%241million-on-election-campaign-to-defend-higher-education-14900

Regards
Carmel Shute
Media Officer
NTEU

PS The National Tertiary Education Union covers all employees of universities and research institutes, including general staff such as librarians, gardeners, technical specialists and administrative staff, and academics. It is incorrect to characterise NTEU as “the academics’ union”.